Shrine where twins are worshipped
By Biodun Muhammed and Kehinde Oyetimi
Sunday, March 1, 2009

THE birth of twins in various parts of the world is as primordial as human existence. This seems to be in consonance with the religious belief prevalent in Christianity and Islam that humans should go into the world and multiply. In science, it has often been explained that twins are product of cell division which is referred to as mitosis.


One of the worshippers, presenting her

request before the god (twins).









Also, in Yoruba cosmogony there is a cosmic continuum comprising the world of the living, the dead and the unborn. The interaction of these three worlds and the mystery surrounding the activities that take place in them is such that has evoked awe. This phenomenon led to ancestral worship which has its stipulated code of conduct, highly imbued with music and performance.

Sunday Tribune went on a fact-finding mission, in an attempt to demystify and demythify the cryptic mode associated with the worship of twins in Yoruba traditional religion. According to Mr. Akinwale Gafar, the secretary of Egbe Onibeji, Apata Eboade (a group which engages in the worship of twins) “Twins are gods. Their worship has nothing to do with Islam or Christianity as they can be worshipped by anyone who is related to them”.

The birth of twins can be a blessing or a blight. Like other gods of the Yoruba pantheon, they are ambivalent, possessing both good and bad qualities. Mr. Gafar explained while throwing more light on the issue, “the spirit of twins can bless and punish. Their spirit is associated with affluence. It is a spirit that brings favour. That is why twins love the poor. They go to the poor with a view of changing their fortune”.

On the issue of how they mete out punishment to their offenders, he says, “once twins are ill-treated and they feel bad, things start going wrong for the affected person. Such person’s business can fail, illness can set in and so on. But once the spirit of the twins is appeased, relief comes immediately.”


This woman, Ayagbado goes into trance

to bring messages from the gods.Sunday Tribune met Mr. Gafar in his house at Egbende, a village at the outskirts of Ibadan where he gave mystical explanations of the world of twins such that at a point he became reluctant, explaining that he would not reveal anything unless the meeting of the twins would be attended at Apata Eboade. Sunday Tribune followed him there.





Having been advised to embark on the journey to Apata-Eboade early, Sunday Tribune took off as early as 6.00am. Although Apata-Eboade is said to be known as a very strong centre of African traditional religion. The power house of this enigmatic place is situated in Iya-Atorise’s residence. She is also known as Madam Oyinlola Agboola. This place also houses other gods like Sango (the god of thunder) and Osun (the water goddess).

Iya Atorise is an aged woman, who is revered by her followers. At the entrance of the house, there is a bowl-like depression on the floor. This depression is filled with palm oil and everyone who goes in there bows to the bowl. Some wait for fairly long periods as they lay their petitions before the oil filled bowl. The bowl houses the spirit of twins.

The worshippers came in one after the other until a quorum was formed. As soon as Sunday Tribune was introduced, the rites commenced. It was stated that twins are special gods and every member of the group is either a twin or a close relative of one.

The first assignment had to do with identifying members of the meeting one after the other and it was discovered that almost every god in Yorubaland was represented. Ogun, Sango, Oya, Obaluaye, Obatala, Osun and Esulaalu.

Iya Atorise carries an idol of a dead twinAfrican traditional religion is known to entail lots of ritual which has elements of the dramatic. This spiritual affair may appear to be some form of spectacle to an onlooker, but for the adherents of the religion, it is serious business.

This was portrayed when the Ayagbado ( a person who dramatises the nature of Edun, a monkey family, steals corn from the farm during twin celebration rites) introduced herself. She made it known that since edun and twins are believed to be of the same family, acting like edun is an important part of the ceremony. She said her role as Ayagbado demands that she imitates the corn-stealing-action of edun. At the request of Sunday Tribune, she demonstrated the act. Corn was brought forward. As a woman was holding the corn, the Ayagbado jumped like a monkey and snatched the corn from her as the chorus “Edun moloko, Edun yagbado hoi” was chanted.

At the sound of hoi!, it was as though a great force descended on the Ayagbado. She staggered while people quickly rushed to hold her. She struggled like someone in a frenzy. She was eventually tamed as she was forced to lean on someone. She went into a trance. It was like a scene from a movie when the Ayagbado started delivering messages from the gods. A mere demonstration of the role of Ayagbado turned out to be a time for delivering messages before she regained consciousness.

Sunday Tribune inquired if the spirit of the twins descends upon people while worshipping. Mr Gafar’s response was, “the spirit of the twins can descend on a man and cause him to go into trance but apart from the spirit of the twins, the different beats that are peculiar to each god is beaten as a mark of respect for the gods. So when Sango’s beat is rendered, adherents of the god are arrested by him, then they go into trance to bring messages from the god.

The worshippers present explained why it was necessary for the gods to be present during the celebration of twins. According to one of them, ‘twins are precious children of Sango. You can’t celebrate them without paying homage to Sango. Not Sango alone, other gods, including Esu (devil), holds twins in high esteem.’

An expedition which was originally meant to investigate the intricacies involved in the worship of twins turned out to be an exploration of Yoruba deities and the different roles they play in the lives of their followers. After speaking with the representatives of the gods at the meeting, a recess was observed as they sat round plates of cocoyam in groups. The break followed with a sacrifice to Sango - the blood of a hen. The flesh was cooked with gbegiri soup. This was served in the afternoon with Amala. They ate.

Worshippers of twins at Apata-Eboade.After the meal, they brought the effigy of a twin. The effigy is believed to represent the spirit of one of a set of twins who is dead. According to this belief, the spirit of the dead twin is worshipped so that it will bring good fortune to the partner that is still living.

Pa Osemekhan, gave an insight on how twins are viewed in Edo State.“The myth surrounding twins is gradually fading off but I must say in some villages that the old system still operates. Twins are believed to be from the gods, so the pot used in sacrificing to any god is packed by the roadside to cook for the twins. Twins are also fed with foodstuff from sacrifices. The assumption is that when twins eat from the gods, they feel better”, he opined.





Commenting further on the issue of mothers who beg by the roadside with their twins, Mr. Gafar gave this admission, “in some cases, the spirit of the twins would want to teach humility, especially when the affected individual seems to be too full of herself. In such cases the woman is forced to beg as an alternative to losing the kids or incurring the wrath of the gods. But it is wrong for anybody to take to begging in the name of twins when the gods did not give such instruction.”

It was later gathered that different people, irrespective of their class or status engage in the worship of twins, including people in the higher rungs of the social ladder. Mr. Gafar further revealed that, “people are hypocrites. Many rich people who claim that they do not engage in the worship of twins secretly call us to worship their twins for them when they run into trouble.”

In a nutshell, the worship of twins is just an aspect of the interwoven and intricate narrative of African traditional religion.

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